The Vampire's Curse, A Paranormal Romance (Undead in Brown County #2) Read Online Free Page B
Author: S.J. Wright
object he gazed upon. His powerful, stunning body balanced expertly on the balls of his bare feet and his hands settled firmly against the outside frame of the window with the lean angular muscles of his arms tensely bunched. He was barely dressed at all, only wearing a ragged pair of cut-off jean shorts.
I took another step back from the window and shook my head in denial, “Oh, God. Alex…”
Tears blurred the image of the creature before me. My friend was gone. An ache so profoundly painful struck me in the chest, pressed me back from the window and against the far wall of my bedroom.
“ Let me in.” His voice was low and sweetly melodic.
A frantic sob escaped my throat in response. The wind continued to pour through the open window, rattling the edges of the upraised blinds against the window casing. The only source of illumination was a single nightlight plugged into the wall by my bed, but it was enough.
“ Look at me, Sarah.” His voice was impossible to ignore, compelling in a way that even Michael’s had never been.
I dashed the tears away with a shaking fist and blinked at him.
“ You will let me in. Now .”
The voice that answered was my own, but I felt completely separate from it. Any will of my own was lost to me, swept away by the unyielding force of his presence and the guilt that was ripping me into pieces.
“ Come in.” It was barely a whisper of sound. Some tiny little nothing that had the power of everything behind it, because the moment those words came from me, I knew my fate was set in stone. With a growing sense of awe, I watched him step through the open window and come across the room to stand before me like some golden god returning to the scene of his demise.
His expression was infused with determination, but when he bent down towards me, I saw the briefest, sweetest cloud of doubt pass over him. I had to snatch at that before it faded away and left me completely helpless. It was all I had. It was a reminder that somewhere beneath the skin of this dark soul, a fragment of the man I had known still flickered.
Reaching out with desperate hands, I cupped his fierce face.
“ Tell me you’re still there.” It was a sad plea, accentuated by the hot tears that trailed down my face without pause.
His fiery eyes widened in surprise. He had expected fear or anger, not quivering supplication. He had never witnessed that side of me. I had lost my father and nearly lost my sister. Having to say goodbye to anyone else, especially a friend like Alex would change me. It might just destroy me. Grasping my hands within his own, he drew them away from his face and turned his head to the side.
“ Say something.” I whispered hoarsely, urgently, “Tell me you hate me.”
Again, our eyes locked. Desire shot through me unexpectedly. Without another thought, only a savage need to have him back in any capacity, I moved forward and fastened my mouth on his. For just a tiny instant, he froze. All I wanted was to hold onto him, to keep him with me. However, somewhere inside, I felt the tide turning and began to understand that there was something infinitely separate from our friendship that had begun to flower inside of me.
His hard-muscled, bare arms stole around me as we both knelt there on the floor, our knees bent against the chill of the hard wood. I could feel the heat of his chest through my pajama shirt. Breaking away with a whimper, I tried to unbutton it, but my fingers were trembling violently. Realizing my intent, Alex simply wrenched the front of the shirt apart in his hands, the buttons popping off and falling to the floor.
It was not enough. Having his warm flesh pressed so closely against me, having his lips searching and teasing my own. It was not nearly enough. Our tongues met in a silken dance and still, I ached. With a low groan, he jerked away and rose to his feet, pulling me with him. In a flash and without a single whispered word between us, he spread me out upon the
I took another step back from the window and shook my head in denial, “Oh, God. Alex…”
Tears blurred the image of the creature before me. My friend was gone. An ache so profoundly painful struck me in the chest, pressed me back from the window and against the far wall of my bedroom.
“ Let me in.” His voice was low and sweetly melodic.
A frantic sob escaped my throat in response. The wind continued to pour through the open window, rattling the edges of the upraised blinds against the window casing. The only source of illumination was a single nightlight plugged into the wall by my bed, but it was enough.
“ Look at me, Sarah.” His voice was impossible to ignore, compelling in a way that even Michael’s had never been.
I dashed the tears away with a shaking fist and blinked at him.
“ You will let me in. Now .”
The voice that answered was my own, but I felt completely separate from it. Any will of my own was lost to me, swept away by the unyielding force of his presence and the guilt that was ripping me into pieces.
“ Come in.” It was barely a whisper of sound. Some tiny little nothing that had the power of everything behind it, because the moment those words came from me, I knew my fate was set in stone. With a growing sense of awe, I watched him step through the open window and come across the room to stand before me like some golden god returning to the scene of his demise.
His expression was infused with determination, but when he bent down towards me, I saw the briefest, sweetest cloud of doubt pass over him. I had to snatch at that before it faded away and left me completely helpless. It was all I had. It was a reminder that somewhere beneath the skin of this dark soul, a fragment of the man I had known still flickered.
Reaching out with desperate hands, I cupped his fierce face.
“ Tell me you’re still there.” It was a sad plea, accentuated by the hot tears that trailed down my face without pause.
His fiery eyes widened in surprise. He had expected fear or anger, not quivering supplication. He had never witnessed that side of me. I had lost my father and nearly lost my sister. Having to say goodbye to anyone else, especially a friend like Alex would change me. It might just destroy me. Grasping my hands within his own, he drew them away from his face and turned his head to the side.
“ Say something.” I whispered hoarsely, urgently, “Tell me you hate me.”
Again, our eyes locked. Desire shot through me unexpectedly. Without another thought, only a savage need to have him back in any capacity, I moved forward and fastened my mouth on his. For just a tiny instant, he froze. All I wanted was to hold onto him, to keep him with me. However, somewhere inside, I felt the tide turning and began to understand that there was something infinitely separate from our friendship that had begun to flower inside of me.
His hard-muscled, bare arms stole around me as we both knelt there on the floor, our knees bent against the chill of the hard wood. I could feel the heat of his chest through my pajama shirt. Breaking away with a whimper, I tried to unbutton it, but my fingers were trembling violently. Realizing my intent, Alex simply wrenched the front of the shirt apart in his hands, the buttons popping off and falling to the floor.
It was not enough. Having his warm flesh pressed so closely against me, having his lips searching and teasing my own. It was not nearly enough. Our tongues met in a silken dance and still, I ached. With a low groan, he jerked away and rose to his feet, pulling me with him. In a flash and without a single whispered word between us, he spread me out upon the
Readers choose
David O. Stewart
L.L. Bartlett
Deborah D. Moore
J. J. Salkeld
Anthony Paul
Kathy Love
Mark Campbell
Marissa Dobson
Christina Ow
Jennifer Probst